Molded pulp pallet



Sept, 8,1959 w. M. ALTENBURG 2,903,218

MOLDED PULP PALLET Filed July 30, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR BY LOFFLQQKS ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1959 w. M. ALTENBURG 2,903,218

MOLDED PULP PALLET Filed July 50, 1956 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEY Sept. 8, 1959 Filed July 30, 1956 W. M. ALTENBURG MOLDED PULP PALLET 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 MOLDED PULP PALLET William M. Al'tenburg, South Windham, Maine, assignor to Diamond Gardner Corporation, a corporation of Delaware Application July 30, 1956, Serial No. 600,987

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-120) This invention relates to portable platforms or pallets used in supporting articles, and more particularly to a pallet of molded pulp.

Prior to the instant invention, most load supporting pallets for use in conjunction with fork lift trucks or the like'have been made of wood or metal construction and have the inherent disadvantages of being relatively expensive and heavy. Due to the replacement cost of wooden and metal pallets of the prior art, it has been conventional to reuse these pallets at the completion of a shipment, the pallets being returned by the carrier on a return trip which is economically unprofitable as far as the empty pallet is concerned. The Weight of the wooden and metal pallets is also an appreciable item in the total cost of transportation of the shipment which they support.

Some attempts have been made to produce pallets made of paper products or the like, most of which use corrugated cardboard constructions. Paper or fiber product pallets as a. group have economic advantages in that they are much lighter in Weight and generally less expensive to manufacture and sell than metal and .wooden pallets. However, most of the paper product or fiber board pallets thus far developed are relatively complicated in their construction and usually require a number of elements and assembly steps in their fabrication. Also, most of the paperproduct pallets thus far developed, as Well as most wooden and metal pallets of the prior art, are not adapted for nested stacking and require considerable space for storage or reshipment.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a paper or fiber product pallet for use with'fork lift trucks or the like which is inexpensive to manufacture and of very light weight.

It is another object of this. invention to provide a single use or disposable molded pulp pallet which is of unitary, uncomplicated construction with resulting economy in manufacture.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a pallet which, while made of lightweight and economical materials, is at the same time structurally strong and capableof supporting heavy loads.

A further object of the invention is to provide a pallet having improved stacking characteristics when empty,

to facilitate storage and return shipment.

In achievementof these objectives, there is provided in accordance with this invention a pallet made of molded construction 'is the provision of hinged body sections along the edges of the load supporting platform which areadapted to be folded over intooverlying relation with respect'to the open ends of the hollow projections Patented Sept. 8, 1959 t ICE 2 to" improve the load supporting characteristics of the pallet.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant invention will be apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. l is a side elevational view, partially broken away, showing the manner in which a fork lift truck engages a load supported upon a pallet of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a plurality of superposed molded pulp pallets in accordance with the invention disposed in nested relation;

Fig. 3 is a view in transverse vertical section of a plurality of nested molded pulp pallets;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of the molded pulp pallets of Figs. 1-3;

Fig. 5 is a view in longitudinal section along line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a View in transverse section of one of the pallets of Figs. 1-5, showing one of the hinged body sections of the pallet in partially raised position;

Fig. 7 is a view in. transverse section along line 77 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the tines of a fork lift truck in engagement with one of the pallets of Figs. l-7, and showing one of the hinged sections of the pallet in partially raised position While the other hinged section is in overlying folded position;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary perspective view of one of the pallets of Figs. 1-8, looking at the underneath surface of the pallet;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a modified form of molded pallet construction, looking at the underneath surface of the pallet;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary perspective view of the modified embodiment of Fig. 10, looking at the upper surface of the pallet;

Fig. 12 is a top plan view of the modified pallet construction of Figs. 10 and 11;

Fig. 13 is a View in vertical section along line 1313 of Fig. 12; and

Fig. 13a is a view similar to Fig. 13 but with the flaps partially folded.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1-9, inclusive, there is shown a pallet generally indicated at 20 made of molded pulp or other similar fiber product by any suitable process, such as the suction process, for example. The molded pulp or other fiber may have a suitable resinous material intermixed with it to add structural strength.

Pallet 2i includes a horizontal main body portion or platform 22 and a plurality of spaced hollow cup-like projections 24 integrally molded with main body 22 and having their respective axes extending perpendicularly to main body 22. Projections 24 serve as support legs for the pallet. In the embodiment shown, hollow projections 24 are in the shape of truncated cones tapering vertically downwardly and having a flat lower end 25 which rests on the floor or other supporting surface upon which the pallet is disposed. The upper end of hollow projection 24 is open.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. l-9, hollow projections 24 are arranged in a plurality of laterally spaced straight rows, the lateral spacing between adjacent rows providing access for the tines of a fork lift truck. The illustrated embodiment shows three symmetrically spaced rows of hollow projections, each row including five projections spaced from each other within the row. The center row of projections 24 lies along the central longitudinal axis of the pallet.

Hingedly connected to each of the opposite longitudinal edges of body or platform member 22 are a pair of oppositely disposed auxiliary body sections 26 and 28. Auxiliary body sections 26 and 28 are molded integrally with the body or platform member and are respectively hinged to body member 22 along hinge lines 30 and 32 which may be formed in any suitable manner, as by suitably scoring or otherwise weakening the molded material along the respective hinge lines.

In the embodiment shown, auxiliary body sections 26 and 28 each have a width substantially equal to onehalf of the transverse width of main body member 22 so that when sections 26 and 28 are folded toward each other their respective edges lie in facing relation to each other substantially along the central longitudinal axis of body member 22.

As best seen in Fig. 3, hollow projections 24 permit a plurality of the pallets 20 to be stacked in superposed nested relation. When the pallets are stacked in nested relation, hinged sections 26 and 28 are folded outwardly into a horizontal plane so as to lie on opposite sides of and in a common plane with main body portion 22.

When pallet 20 is used for supporting a load, as shown in Fig. 1, the opposite hinged sections 26 and 28 are folded inwardly about their respective hinge axes into overlying relation to the open upper ends of hollow projections or legs 24. When hinged body sections 26 and 28 are disposed in overlying relation to the open upper ends of hollow projections 24, the load supporting characteristics and structural strength of the pallet are improved, and any tendency of relatively unrigid supported articles, such as asphalt shingles, for example, to sink into the open upper ends of hollow projections 24 is avoided. The load being supported is strapped to pallet 20, and the tines of the fork lift truck are extended between the laterally spaced rows of hollow projections 24 to lift the pallet and the load strapped thereto.

Referring now to Figs. -13, inclusive, there is shown a modified molded pulp pallet generally indicated at 34 including a main body or platform 36 disposed in a substantially horizontal plane, and a pair of hinged side body sections 38 and 40.

In the embodiment of Figs. 10-13, the hinged body section 38 is made of less width in the transverse dimension of pallet 34 than hinged body section 40. As a result, the joint line between the two hinged sections 38 and 40 falls in a space between adjacent rows of hollow projections, rather than in the middle of the center row,

as in the case of the embodiment of Figs. 1-9. Thus, the facing free edges of hinged sections 38 and 40 rest on the horizontal upper surface of body member 36 between adjacent rows of projections and are therefore more positively supported than if these edges were to overlie the center row of hollow projections as in the case of the embodiment of Figs. 1-9.

A plurality of hollow truncated conical projections 42 molded integrally with body member 36 extend vertically downwardly from body member 36 to serve as support legs for the pallet, the respective vertical axes of projections 42 being perpendicular to main body or platform 36. Each projection or leg 42 has a flat end portion 44 which rests on the floor or other supporting surface. Hollow projections or pallet legs 42 are arranged in a plurality of laterally spaced rows, three such rows being shown in the views of Figs. 12 and 13, the middle row of projections lying along the central longitudinal axis of the pallet. In the illustrated embodiment, each row contains five projections 42 which are spaced from each other within the row. Adjacent projections within a given row are laterally offset from each other in alternately opposite directions to define what may be termed a zig-zag path. This construction permits a greater number of pallet legs to be provided on a pallet having a given longitudinal dimension, and correspondingly reduces the load carried by each leg. At the same time, the spacing be- 4 tween the rows of legs permits access for the tines of the fork lift truck.

Adjacent projections 42 within a given row communicate with each other by means of a hollow molded passage 46 of less depth and width than the projections themselves. In the illustrated embodiment, each communicating passage 46 is approximately half as deep as the adjacent projections 42 which it connects. The outer wall of the hollow communicating passage 46 forms a connecting arch between the adjacent projections, as best seen in the view of Fig. 12. These connecting arches between adjacent laterally offset pallet legs or projections provide a structural reinforcement which strengthens the pallet legs.

It can be seen from the foregoing that there are pro vided in accordance with this invention load support pallets having a unitary, uncomplicated construction economical to manufacture and which can be sold for a relatively low price. The low cost of the pallet is such as to make the disposal of the pallet after only a single use economically justifiable. The pallet is adapted for easy storage or reshipment, where desired, in a minimum of space due to the nesting characteristics of the construction. The molded pulp pallets hereinbefore described are light in weight, but yet structurally strong and able to withstand heavy loads.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and therefore the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An integral molded pulp pallet structure comprising a planular load supporting body member extending in substantially a horizontal plane, a plurality of spaced hollow molded fiber projections integral with said body member and extending vertically downwardly from and defining supports for said body member which are positioned to accommodate the tines of a fork lift truck, said projections being open at their respective upper ends, and planular means hingedly connected to said body member and foldable into directly overlying relation to said projections to cover the open upper ends of said projections.

2. An integral molded pulp pallet structure comprising a planular load supporting molded fiber main body member extending in substantially a horizontal plane, a plurality of hollow molded fiber projections integral with said body member and extending vertically downwardly from and defining supports for said main body member, said hollows projections being spaced sufliciently from each other to accommodate the tines of a fork lift truck, said hollow projections being open at the vertically upper ends thereof, and a substantially fiat planular molded fiber auxiliary body member hingedly connected to said main body member along an edge of said main body member, said auxiliary body member being foldable along its hinge connection to directly overlie and abut said main body member over substantially the entire area of said auxiliary body member and to overlie the open ends of said hollow projections.

3. An integral molded pulp pallet structure comprising a planular load supporting molded fiber main body member extending in substantially a horizontal plane, a plurality of spaced hollow molded fiber projections integral with said main body member and extending vertically downwardly from and defining supports for said main body member, said hollow projections being spaced from each other sufiiciently to accommodate the tines of a fork lift truck, said hollow projections being open at the vertically upper ends thereof, and a pair of substantially flat planular molded fiber auxiliary body members hingedly connected to said main body member along opposite edges of said main body member, said auxiliary body members being foldable along their respective hinge connectionsto directly abut and overlie said main body member over substantially the entire area of said auxiliary body member and to overlie the open ends of said hollow projections.

4. An integral molded pulp pallet structure comprising a planular load supporting molded fiber main body member extending in substantially a horizontal plane, a plurality of spaced rows of hollow fiber projections molded integrally with said main body member, each of said rows including a plurality of upwardly open spaced hollow projections extending vertically downwardly from and defining supports for said body member, one of said rows lying substantially along the central longitudinal axis of said main body member, and a pair of planular auxiliary body members each respectively having an edge thereof hingedly connected to said main body member along an opposite longitudinal edge of said main body member from said other auxiliary body member, each auxiliary body member having a free edge lying opposite its respective hinged edge, said auxiliary body members being of different Widths than each other in a direction transverse of the longitudinal axis of said main body member, said auxiliary body members being foldable along their respective hinge connections to directly overlie the open ends of said hollow projections, the free edges of the respective auxiliary body members when in overlying positions being disposed between adjacent rows of hollow projections.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,301,197 Tully Apr. 22, 1919 2,240,024 Stone Apr. 29, 1941 2,446,264 Cox Aug. 3, 1948 2,544,657 Cushman Mar. 13, 1951 2,634,039 Schwertfeger Apr. 7, 1953 2,673,052 Risch Mar. 23, 1954 2,706,099 Whalley Apr. 12, 1955 2,809,908 French Oct. 15, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 365,797 Great Britain Jan. 28, 1932 

